The Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Place, London
Formerly - The Prince Charles Theatre / Fielding's Music Hall
Other Leicester Square Theatres and Cinemas
Above - The Prince Charles Cinema, formerly the Prince Charles Theatre, in September 2009 - Photo M.L.
The Prince Charles Cinema, which stands on
Leicester Place, just off Leicester Square, in London was originally
conceived as a small 420 seat Theatre called the Prince Charles Theatre.
The Theatre was built for Alfred Esdaile by Richard Costain LTD.,
and was situated beneath a new office block, flats, and a roof terrace which formed part of a large modern construction in what was once the heart of London's West End before Cinema took over Leicester Square's once famous Theatres.
Right - An Artist's Impression of the Prince Charles Theatre - From the ILN, 30th of December 1961.
The Theatre itself was designed by Carl Fisher and Associates, and was the first entirely new Theatre to be built in London since the Saville Theatre had opened in 1931. Although built as a live Theatre with a small stage and no Orchestra Pit, there was projection equipment installed from the beginning too for the showing of Films should the need arise.
The foundation stone for the Theatre was laid by Flora Robson on the 18th of December 1961, and the Theatre, which is now situated next door to the new Leicester Square Theatre, opened on the 26th of December 1962 with a Canadian Review 'Clap Hands' directed by John Gray, which was a transfer from the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith.
Above - The Auditorium and Stage of the Prince Charles Theatre nearing completion - From The ILN, 15th of December 1962.
The Theatre's single level Auditorium was situated on the ground floor with dressing rooms and lounges beneath it in the basement. The Theatre's small stage was just 24 foot 6 inches deep with a proscenium opening of 25 feet and it had very small wing space either side of only two foot six inches. The Stage Door was around the side of the building in Lisle Street.
Right - Judy Garland on stage at the Prince Charles Theatre in 1964 - The image is a Screenshot from a film of an interview with Judy Garland by Jack Paar in November 1964 which can be viewed in its entirety here.
The Theatre's main entrance was on Leicester Place in view of Leicester Square and inside were four mosaic sculptures which depicted Harlequin, a clown, Nell Gwynn and a Fairy Queen, designed by the Hungarian sculptor G. Dereford. The auditorium, which, as a live Theatre actually accommodated 358 people on its opening, was decorated with fibrous plaster work which was achieved by Claridges of Putney.
For its opening the Prince Charles Theatre was managed by Harold Fielding who announced that the Theatre would be open all day and all week and would house 'intimate entertainments, concerts and poetry readings.' 'Let us hope,' Harold Fielding and Alfred Esdaile said on its opening, 'that the Prince Charles becomes the home of Theatre, the Arts and Music. May it also become, with its beautiful Leicester Room facilities, a home for those who want to see, hear and discuss the things which go to make up "Theatreland" and its allied arts.' - Quote from Mander & Mitchenson's 'Theatres of London'.
The Theatre wasn't very successful however, and although Fielding tried various ideas none of then really paid off. In 1964 he had the auditorium completely redecorated and the stage enlarged so that he could reopen the Theatre as 'Fielding's Music Hall.' This opened in February 1964 but it wasn't a success either, and the name then reverted to its original for a short period.
Above - Three Photographs of the Foyer, Bar, and Auditorium of the Prince Charles Theatre / Fielding's Music Hall whilst being remodelled in 1964 and shortly before being put up for sale - From the former Harold Fielding Archive - Courtesy Simon Moss, stagememories.
Above - The Prince Charles Cinema, formerly the Prince Charles Theatre, in September 2009 - Photo M.L.
In July 1965 the owner, Alfred Esdaile, sold the Theatre to the Star Cinema chain, and after rebuilding work in 1968 to the designs of Carlo S. Biskupek and interior designer Harold Bartram, the building reopened as the Prince Charles Cinema on the 21st of January 1969 with a showing of the film 'Benjamin.' The stage was removed in the reconstruction and the auditorium reconfigured so that the Cinema's newly built auditorium could accommodate an increase of 631 people in its stalls and new circle level.
The building has been used as a Cinema ever since but fell into disrepute for a while when it was used as a porn Cinema. It's worth mentioning that its auditorium is quite unusual, in that the stalls seating is today raked upwards towards the screen rather than the usual downwards rake of most Cinemas and Theatres.
In 1991 the Cinema was taken over by a new company whose aim was to provide cheap seats for cinema audiences in the West End, and very successful they have been too. The Prince Charles Cinema is alone in being the only non subsidised repertory cinema in the Country and has a very loyal fan base. One of the Cinema's major attractions since its opening has been a 'singalong' version of the film 'The Sound of Music' with subtitles on the screen and a compare who hosts the presentation, more information on this can be found here.
The Prince Charles Cinema was split into two screens in November 2008, one in the former stalls with a capacity of 302, and the second above it in the former circle with a capacity of 104. The upper screen now shows premium films and the lower; classic film presentations at low prices.
You may like to visit the Cinema's own website here.
Above - Leicester Place in September 2009 , showing the Prince Charles Cinema, formerly the Prince Charles Theatre to the far right, the new Leicester Square Theatre to the centre, and the Notre Dame French Catholic Church to the right - Photo M.L.